Fat facts and follies
Live-saving lipids 101 For decades now, one of the staples of my campaign to re-educate (or counter-educate, as it were) Americans as to what's healthy has been to promote a proper understanding of the vital role fats - especially the mainstream-maligned saturated ones - play in your good health. And since it's been a while since I've had occasion to stress this, I thought I'd write a little refresher on the topic for today's Dose… First off, for anyone who's a little sketchy on the difference between "saturated" and "unsaturated" fats, here's the scoop: The more hydrogen atoms that bind to receptive carbon atoms in a given fat, the more saturated it is. In English, that translates into this: The more solid a fat is at room temperature, the more saturated. The more liquid, the less saturated. That's all that these terms really mean. However, the meat-hating mainstream has programmed us all to believe saturated fats from animal sources (butter, lard, milk fat, etc.) are the "killer fats" that cause high blood pressure and high cholesterol. But nothing could be farther from the truth. Countless studies show that the MORE animal fats people eat, the better their heart health. Need some proof from the real world? The African Masai, North American Eskimos, Japanese, Greeks, Okinawans, and our good friends the French all consume diets that are extremely high (by mainstream American standards) in saturated animal fats. Yet these people enjoy astonishingly low rates of heart disease, hypertension, and coronary events. Meanwhile, we Pritikin-programmed Americans are dropping like flies to these same conditions. Why? Because we DON'T EAT ENOUGH animal fats-instead we load up on proven deadly
trans-fatty acids made from vegetable fats (any food with anything "hydrogenated" in the ingredients is one of these). Also, we gorge ourselves with refined flours and carbohydrates that our livers convert into deadly triglycerides in the blood. Meanwhile, our bodies and minds pine away, since fats in our diet give us: - Fuel for a stronger heart
- Energy for physical activity
- Immunity-boosting antiviral agents
- A natural defense against depression
- Raw materials for building more resilient cells
- Increased concentrations of HDL "good" cholesterol
- The vital chemicals our brains need to remain sharp and focused
Get the picture? Eat your animal fats! And just when I though the mainstream might really be coming around on this because of the success of Atkins and other high-animal-fat and protein nutritional plans, here's what I read…
As if it isn't bad enough that the medical mainstream is preaching the low-fat heresy to our ever-more-obese-and-diabetic nation, now OVEN MANUFACTURERS have joined the "fat is fatal"
bandwagon… That's right: They've developed a "fat-busting" microwave oven! According to a recent Reuters Health article, the Sharp Corporation is about to unveil a new-generation microwave designed to reduce the fat content of foods cooked in it. Using steam superheated to nearly 600 degrees Fahrenheit, the unit promises to melt off a percentage of fats and oils (also salt) from steak, fish, chicken, and other foods. Hmmm. An oven that takes the healthiest foods you can eat and strips them of the very thing that makes them so healthy - jeez, what a breakthrough! What's next, a line of dishes, cups, and
cereal bowls that secretes refined sugar into everything you serve on them? Or maybe a popcorn popper that automatically saturates your snack with trans-fat-loaded artificial butter-flavored vegetable oil or margarine. Oh, wait. They already have that. Slated to go on sale soon in Japan (ironically, one of the healthiest nations on Earth largely because of its large per-capita consumption of meats, fish, and fats), the unit should hit these
shores within a year, I'd think. But with its "bargain price" of around $1100, at least this oven will only help give heart disease to a tiny sliver of the marketplace… Not breathing the mainstream's hot air, William Campbell Douglass II, MD | 
